Scattergories
In teams, give pupils a letter and some categories of things to come up with that begin with that letter. If they think of an answer no one else has they get points (5 per word).
Tag - game
Keyword chop
Half of the class are given questions and half are given answers, or half given one word of a key term and the others the other half. Pupils must silently go around the room trying to find out who their partner is. Once they have found one another they can either see if they can …
Jeopardy
You say the answers and the pupils say the questions. It is useful if you tell pupils that the answer must begin with, “who is” or “what is” to narrow down the response.
Guess who
Pupils are given a key word or character and in pairs (often stuck to their heads with a post it) They have to question one another to see if they can decipher the key term or idea. It is useful to encourage pupils to link learning together e.g. a hobby or place to live in …
Globingo
This is a kinaesthetic form of bingo where each child starts off with a board of questions (9×9 grid). The first person to get the 9 cards (with questions on them) completed by 9 different people wins!
Countdown
Give 9 letters and get pupils to make as many words as they can. If it works for the topic you are teaching, hide a key word in amongst the letters and see if anyone gets it!
Catchphrase
Key words (9) are placed in a 3×3 grid. Pupils describe as many words as possible on the board to their team mates in a minute to try and win. Behind the words is a catchphrase that there are bonus points for guessing!
Bingo
Get pupils to review their learning by choosing 9 out of a possible 12 numbers or words and complete a grid. The students can then cross out the words as the teacher describes them; first to complete their grid wins! Another way this can be used is to focus the children’s learning on a particular …
Beat the teacher
Everyone (teacher included) has a mini-whiteboard and pen. The teacher gives a calculation or anagram and everyone starts doing it. Either set the timer or give the pupil your time plus 1 minute. When they think they have the correct answer they must hold up it up on their whiteboard. Another version involves having a …